


The Pied Piper of Hasetsu

by Agasthiya



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Animals, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Nature, Summer Vacation, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, everyone loves Yuuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 07:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15702810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agasthiya/pseuds/Agasthiya
Summary: Yuuri has a gift that he seems unaware of yet contributes to his image of modern fairytale prince: all animals are naturally drawn to him.





	The Pied Piper of Hasetsu

**Author's Note:**

> A little something I wrote to relax and get away from my other fic projects and the stress of life ❤️
> 
> (Thank you again Hegel for reading over this and being excited with me, I love you so much ❤️)

“Yuuri, look behind us!” Viktor urges in a whisper, squeezing Yuuri’s arm harder.

Yuuri does, and a surprised smile blooms on his face. At safe distance, among the hazelnut tree leaves sparsely scattered on the path, a brown squirrel is peering at him with its head tilted in curiosity.

“Oh, it’s the squirrel from earlier!” Yuuri says, keeping his voice low despite the excitement. “I can’t believe it found us again! Or do you think it has been following us?”

To Viktor, there is no question about it. “This is why I love taking walks with you,” he says, resting his head on Yuuri’s shoulder. “You’re a woodland animals magnet. So far, we’ve come across a squirrel, two wild rabbits, and even a raccoon…”

“I’m the one carrying the snacks.” Yuuri points his thumb to his backpack. “It must attract them. Speaking of, isn’t it time for a break? I think Makkachin could do with one. We’ve been walking for a while now.”

Makkachin has diverted from the path and is now sniffing at some pink flowers growing by the lake with great interest. Once she’s done inspecting the area, she sits on the grass heated by the sun and stares at her owners, the message all too clear. After exchanging a fond smile, Yuuri and Viktor join her and proceed to unpack everything they need for their well-deserved break. They put Makkachin’s bowl in the shade of a tree and fill it with water, then take out cereal bars as well as plums and peaches that they picked yesterday during their visit in the orchard.

Yuuri removes his shoes and socks, letting his feet breathe, and throws his head back in satisfaction. Despite the pearls of sweat glistening on his skin under the sunlight, Yuuri looks fresh as morning dew. Viktor wishes he could be so attractive after physical effort. The thought crosses his mind every time he catches their red faces and hair sticking to their foreheads in the changing room mirror. Yuuri pulls out tiredness so much better than him.

Wherever he goes, whatever he does, Yuuri is a blessing to see. And animals seem to agree.

Every time they go to a park, Yuuri befriends cats, dogs and ducks without even trying. Viktor isn’t the only one who noticed: Yuuko and Phichit regaled him with tons of similar stories, respectively from Yuuri’s childhood and his Detroit days. According to Toshiya, within three seconds of meeting Yuuri, Makkachin leapt on him hard enough to tackle him to the ground. Makkachin’s immediate and unconditional love for Yuuri came as no surprise, yet picturing the scene made Viktor tear up.

Of course it isn’t the food that attracts them all. It’s Yuuri, period.

Suddenly overcome by tenderness, Viktor rests his head on Yuuri’s lap, his thighs firm underneath his hiking pants. Yuuri hands Viktor a cereal bar before running his fingers through his hair, asking if he applied enough sunscreen on his face. While Viktor has gotten used to Japanese summer, his first experience with it had been so disastrous that since then, Yuuri never stopped worrying about him being too hot, not hydrated enough, getting a sunburn…

Being the considerate angel he is, how can Yuuri be surprised that animals love him?

“Is the squirrel still behind you?” Viktor asks. “I can’t see from here.”

Yuuri looks behind his shoulder. “Wow, it’s gotten quite close. It’s so cute… it must be hungry, we should give it some peach.”

Viktor sighs, biting into his bar. “Yuuri, the squirrel doesn’t care about the food. There are plenty of hazelnuts for it to eat around here.”

“Then what does it want?”

“Are you serious?” Viktor chuckles in disbelief. “Yuuri, this squirrel has a crush on you. Well, in its own… squirrely way.”

The puzzled look he gets in response confirms that Yuuri is, indeed, dead serious.

“Come on, don’t tell me you never noticed.” Viktor raises a finger and strokes Yuuri’s cheek and jawline. “You enchant animals wherever you go.”

It makes Yuuri laugh. “You’re crediting me with too much power.”

“Am I? So all these separate times when animals came to you, on instinct, were all just coincidences?”

Yuuri’s eyes wander across the lake, and Viktor recognizes this expression when he’s deep in thought.

“When I was in high school,” Yuuri eventually says, his hand still caressing Viktor’s hair, “my class and I went on a trip to Kyoto and Nara…”

Viktor nods, pretending it’s new information to him. In fact, Hiroko already showed him all teenage and school pictures of Yuuri (unbeknownst to him obviously), including the ones from this trip. Sadly, there were none of him with a deer.

“…and we were visiting this park where deer roam free. We were allowed to walk around wherever we wanted and buy crackers to feed them. I didn’t have many friends back then so I would mostly stay on my own.”

Viktor takes Yuuri’s free hand, places a kiss on his knuckles and intertwines their fingers as Yuuri keeps talking.

“It was nice though. I managed to hand-feed a few deer. While they’re used to humans, it takes time and patience to earn their trust, so I was surprised. After that, I continued my walk and several new deer came to me, except that I ran out of crackers. I thought they would leave since I didn’t have anything interesting to give them.”

“Did they…?” Viktor asks with this ‘I know exactly where this is going’ tone of his.

Yuuri smiles. “Our class was supposed to gather at a meeting point at the end of the visit. I wandered a bit too far so I was late. Everyone was there already. The teachers, my classmates… the other visitors… I’ll let you imagine their faces when they saw me accompanied with a group of at least five deer right behind me.”

Oh dear. Viktor needs a moment to process this new mental image. He suspected this already, but Yuuri is the embodiment of a modern fairytale hero. It reminds him of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, this legendary character who was hired to lure rats away from an infested city with his magic pipe and who, after being refused payment for his services, took revenge by playing the pipe and luring the citizens’ children away. Except that Yuuri doesn’t need a flute for animals to follow him, and that he would never use such powers for malicious purposes.

“It’s odd,” Yuuri says. “I never talked much about this story. Maybe because I was very self-conscious as a teen and I was scared people would consider me even weirder than they already thought I was.”

Viktor’s thumb draws circles on the top of Yuuri’s hand. “Why would people find it weird? If anything, they should be jealous. Being loved by animals that much is an honor. It’s one of the best compliments you can get.”

“Ha. I’m afraid I’m not as special as you seem to believe…”

This is the exact moment a large blue-gray bird chooses to fly by them, draw a circle in the air before landing right on top of Yuuri’s head, reducing him to stunned silence. Viktor stands back up with no sudden movement, and watches the bird settle comfortably on Yuuri’s hair, reminiscent of a broody hen. Viktor can almost feel the little cartoonish hearts floating above it.

This is so much more than Viktor can handle. He bursts into delighted, high-pitched laughter to the point where he has to move away so as not to scare the bird off.

“Oh God,” Viktor pants, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes before taking his phone out of his pocket. He opens his camera app and press ‘record’. He only intended to take a picture at first. But the sight of Yuuri pressing his eyes shut, his body shaking with repressed laughter as he struggles to stay still, while a bird is nesting in his hair… only a video could give it justice.

“It’s heavy,” Yuuri mumbles between two silent giggles.

“And here,” Viktor says, affecting the tone and accent of a wildlife documentary voice-over, “we are provided with further evidence that animals are endowed with Yuuri Katsuki senses that tingle whenever he’s around.”

Yuuri shakes harder, his face getting redder, and opens his eyes again.

“Oh God, don’t tell me you’re filming this.”

Viktor turns the camera off. “Don’t worry, I won’t post it if you don’t want me to. Though it would be a real shame,” he adds with a wink, “the viral potential is pretty high.”

“I’m not sure you can get Instagram here.”

Even if he could, his phone is set to airplane mode. Every intimate moment spent outside with Yuuri is a precious one and Viktor would never ruin it by getting distracted by social media notifications or texts. Once they’re back to the hotel, though…

He will meticulously select the best pictures of the day and show his followers how gorgeous and angelic and adorable (in every sense of the word) his husband is. Remind Yuuri once again of how loved he is, by humans and animals alike. Viktor will never get tired of it. In all honesty, he cares a thousand times more about notifications concerning Yuuri or Makkachin than himself.

Speaking of…

As Makkachin wakes up from her nap, her senses seem to instantly detect the bird’s presence, because she races toward Yuuri, barking and jumping playfully, and the terrified bird perches on a branch in one scream and two flaps of its wings, not too far so as to keep Yuuri in its field of vision.

The squirrel is gone, likely disturbed by the noise. Viktor suspects it might be still around, observing from afar. Looking for hazelnuts to collect as an offering for Yuuri, perhaps.

“Aww, I know, you only wanted to play.” Yuuri giggles as he gathers a disappointed Makkachin in his arms. Viktor joins in on the cuddle pile, wrapping them both in his arms, and they lie there in peaceful, content silence.

Later, Viktor picks daisies and starts weaving a crown, a secret talent that he doesn’t share with many. To deflect attention from his blush caused by Yuuri’s admirative gaze, he says, “I want to visit Kyoto. And Nara.”

“Our vacation has barely begun and you already want to go somewhere else?” Yuuri laughs, stealing a daisy to tuck it behind Viktor’s ear.

“I mean someday,” Viktor clarifies. He wants to go everywhere with Yuuri. Visit temples, stroll in gardens, eat regional specialities… take pictures together with deer and all kinds of animals.

Right this moment though, he couldn’t be more satisfied. Breathing in the sweet, fruity smell floating in the pure air, surrounded by his family. He isn’t too impatient to resume their hike and break the beauty of the instant. It’s okay, he thinks. They have time. He drops the finished daisy crown on Yuuri’s head and takes his face in his hands. He lets himself be submerged by all the love in Yuuri’s hazel eyes and kisses his lips, conveying all his tenderness with no rush.

“Here,” Viktor murmurs, straightening the crown. “For my woodland prince.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading ❤️
> 
> Come and say hello on [Tumblr](http://piecesofbrokenrecollections.tumblr.com)!


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